


Gnarled Roots

by DKaneanite



Series: Winchester Omegas [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, BAMF Castiel (Supernatural), BAMF Dean Winchester, Castiel and Dean Winchester Need to Use Their Words, Derogatory Language, F/M, Fluff, Hate against Omegas, M/M, Michael is a Little Shit, Misunderstandings, Non-con touching, consensual touching/smut, family tree
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:07:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29281965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DKaneanite/pseuds/DKaneanite
Summary: Castiel was handed a stack of papers from Crowley, this is the story of what they contain and how it changes everything Castiel knows for fact.
Relationships: Amelia Novak/Jimmy Novak, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Series: Winchester Omegas [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2014096
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

The paperwork that Crowley had given him nearly a year ago sat heavy in the breast pocket of his trenchcoat, a reminder that he wasn't going to be spending the day with his family at the zoo. Instead he was going to sit down with Jimmy and go over their twisted family tree. Beside him Samandriel sat quietly reading and on the young Alpha's other side Dean rested with eyes closed and listening to the soft classic rock drifting through the speakers. Castiel's eyes drifted to the rear view mirror and he gaze lingered on the twins strapped into their car-seats and Jack in his while Lucas played quietly with his little green army men. The impala smelled of content family, Alpha and Omega combined to create an entirely knew scent, a scent of home and happiness. 

They pulled into Jimmy and Amelia's drive and Castiel tilted his head in confusion at the strange black car parked behind Jimmy's Prius. He figured it must belong to someone in Amelia's family or maybe a friend so he pulled in behind the vehicle and killed the engine. After all Dean and the kids would be leaving most likely before the other people so it wouldn't cause any issues hopefully. 

Between him and Dean they unbuckled the twins and Jack and they were all heading up the steps and into the house. Jimmy had given Dean and Castiel permission to walk in whenever but they always knocked before opening the door. Just in case something was going on that no one wanted to be party too. There were voices coming from the living room and after handing Ben over to Samandriel he followed them as Dean and the children went in search of Amelia and Claire. 

"Jimmy." 

He rounded the corner and seen Jimmy standing off to the side, his back rigid as he stared down two men that were seated on the sofa. One was dark haired with blue eyes, no quite the same color as Jimmy or himself but close enough to see the family resemblance. The other was blonde haired with lighter, more cold looking blue eyes and an expression that just seeing it made him want to smack it off his face. Their collective stare turned towards him and he felt a shiver work down his spine. 

"Cas." Jimmy's voice pulled his attention away from the two men on the couch, his eyes moving over his brother to make sure that he was safe. "These are my...er, our brothers. Michael," The dark haired one nodded. "And Lucifer." The blonde one smirked as he looked between them. "They came for a...visit."

"Huh, looks like Dad's got strong genes. He made two nearly identical pups with two different bitches."

"Lucifer." The name was growled from the dark haired man, a scowl on his face. "I apologize for him. He's never had the best manners no matter how much Dad tried to have them trained into him."

"Truly regrettable." Castiel's lips twisted into a similar snarl as he stared at the blonde headed man. "I'm Castiel."

That was as far as he got before the scent of pissed off Omega reached his nose. They had merely seconds before Dean stormed into the room growling deeply in his chest. He spared only a moment to scent mark both Jimmy and himself before Dean turned blazing gold eyes on Michael and Lucifer. 

"Alright, you have ten seconds to tell me which one of you fucking knotsheads put your hands on my pack mate."

The room was deathly silent, Jimmy's angered scent joining Dean's and raising the tension in the room by 10 fold. 

"Who the hell are you?" Lucifer demanded as he stood, coming in a few inches taller than Dean and trying to use it to his advantage.

Castiel took a step forward before Dean's glare pinned him in place. His eyes flicked to Michael and watched as the man's gaze traveled over his mate in a near hungry way. A growl clawed it's way from his throat but it was lost to the rest of the noise in the room at the moment. 

"It doesn't matter who I am." Dean snapped out, his shoulders squaring in preparation for a fight. 

"This bitch needs to learn his manners."

Lucifer's words barely left his lips before Dean had the larger man pinned to the floor. Having seen his mate take larger Alpha's down before, Castiel stood aside and watched in amusement as his brother trashed and cursed underneath Dean's weight. 

"Someone get this Lunatic bitch offa me." Lucifer snarled.

"I don't know Lucifer, I'd say you deserved it." Michael piped up from his seat.

There was a smirk playing on the Alpha's face as he leaned forward to pick up one of the glasses from the coffee table, taking a sip of the amber liquid within. Castiel's eyes narrowed as he watched Michael's eyes travel over his mate again. 

"Let me up and I'll think about not pressing charges for assault."

"Go ahead and try." Dean replied with a snort before he leaned over to growl into Lucifer's ear. "I'm the Sheriff here."

"An Omega Sheriff? That's rich. Who'd you have to let knot you to get that position."

Dual snarls rang out loudly and both he and Jimmy took a step forward, but stopped as placed his hand on the back of Lucifer's head and shoved it forward into the carpet. 

"Lucifer. Dean is the Sheriff here." Jimmy cut in, a growl poorly hidden in his words. "Now pray tell what Dean meant by "One of you touched his pack mate"? Since I know it wasn't me, and Claire has been in her room since you've arrived, that only leaves Amelia. Who is my mate."

The silence wore on for long moments until it was broken by a pained snarled from Lucifer as Dean wrenched his arm up higher against his back. 

"I'd suggest you answer him before I lose my patience." Dean's voice was deadly quiet and Castiel swallowed as a lick of arousal curled through his stomach at the display. "This is my pack you've violated, so either you answer Jimmy and deal with his payback or you deal with me. And trust me Blondie, I'm skilled in many different ways of...retribution."

"Well it wasn't me." Michael stated with a huff, his eyes awash in undisguised desire. "My tastes in Omega's run much more..masculine."

"Well good for you." Dean scoffed as he wrenched Lucifer's arm again. 

"All I did was pat her ass in passing." Lucifer finally snarled. "All Omega's enjoy a good ass pat as a greeting. I was extremely gentle."

"Maybe in your circles douchebag. But that doesn't fly here."

Castiel could see Dean's control over his rage start to slip and he knew he had to step in before it snapped. Moving over he placed a hand on his mates shoulder, squeezing gently. 

"Dean."

Green eyes snapped up to blue and for a while nothing else existed but them. After a few moments of staring Dean finally vacated the seat he'd taken on Lucifer's lower back, digging his knee into it before standing and moving away over to Castiel's side. They spent a few minutes scenting one another before he pulled away and rubbed his hands up and down Dean's arms. 

"Take Amelia and Claire and go to the zoo like planned. Jimmy and I will deal with these Assbutts."

"Assbutts?"

"Shut up Lucifer."

Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath, nodding before he stole a quick kiss and moved back. Squaring his shoulders again Dean turned and faced Michael and Lucifer and Castiel didn't have to see his mates face to know that he was wearing his hard eyed professional expression. 

"Either one of my boys come to me with so much as a scratch on them and I'll rip your knots off bare handed. Got it?"

Both men nodded, the movement just enough to appease Dean whom then moved over to scent mark him and Jimmy again before he left the room. It didn't take long for Dean to collect the combined group of pups and Castiel waited until they pulled out of the driveway before turning towards his brothers.

"So what prompted your visit?" He demanded without preamble, his arms folded over his chest. 

"Jimmy hasn't returned any of our calls, nor has he shown up to any of the family functions in over a year. We were worried so we decided to drop in. Imagine our surprise when his last known address was empty and there was no forwarding address to be found. So with some help we found his trail and followed it here. And what do we find? Our dear Jimmy, mated, a father, and part of a pack."

Lucifer seemed to be the spokesman of the two Alpha's and Castiel found the sound of his voice grating. "My only question now is who is your pack leader. Can't be dear, sweet James as any pack leader wouldn't allow their bitches to attack anther person." Lucifer's eyes flicked over to him and Castiel straightened his back with a snarled scowl. "However you, Castiel, seem to have some control over him, so maybe you?"

"Dean is my mate." Castiel ground out. "And our pack leader."

"An Omega pack leader?" Michael's voice caught him unawares; he'd forgotten that the other Alpha was even there. "Interesting. How does that work?"

"Dean is...special."

"Special?"

"Dean's a Pure Line Omega. One of the last few in America apparently. His line is a Warrior Pure Line." Jimmy stated, his posture an identical copy of Castiel's, right down to the crossed arms. 

Castiel felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he took in the way Michael and Lucifer traded what they thought were subtle looks.

"A Pure Line you say? And how did you come by such a rare..unicorn?"

"It doesn't matter." Castiel snapped, his barely there control disappearing all at once.

"It's time for you to leave now." Jimmy bit out as he placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder. "Cas and I have things to discuss and you won't be here when our mates and pups get back."

"Come now James, is that any way to treat your brothers? Besides we just met Cassie here. We should get to know better dontcha think?"

The unctuous tone of Lucifer's voice ripped a snarl from both he and Jimmy and they took a uniform step forward. A physical confrontation was only avoided by Michael getting to his feet and standing between them and Lucifer.

"Lucifer. We've over stayed our welcome. James we will schedule our next visit with you so we don't take you by surprise again. Castiel I apologize for my brother's disrespect of your mate and I hope that our next meeting will go much, much smoother."

The words were cold and meaningless but in a bid to rid Jimmy and himself of their brothers he gave a polite head nod. Still holding himself stiffly Jimmy walked Michael and Lucifer to the door, exchanging tight closing pleasantries before practically shoving the two Alpha's out of the door and locked it behind them. 

"I hate them." Jimmy huffed as he leaned against the door.

"They do seem rather taxing."

Jimmy chewed his lip as he pushed himself away from the door. "I just want to know how they found me. I took every precaution to cover my trail..."

"Nothing we can do about it now, but maybe we'll have Charlie look into it. She's good at that sort of thing."

Jimmy rubbed his hand over his face as he headed back into the living room where he dropped down on the sofa with a groan. He leaned up only long enough to take Lucifer's untouched drink and downed it as he looked up at Castiel.

"So tell me Cas, what's so important that you arranged a family trip while we stay here? Surely you couldn't have missed my face that much."

"That is true, what with mine being the much better looking version." Castiel grinned at Jimmy's eyeroll. "Anyway, I have..something of import to show you."

"Oh? And that is?"

Castiel pulled the folded letters out of the breast pocket, his hand tightening slightly on the papers that Crowley had given him almost a year ago. At first he was certain that the smarmy British bastard was lying to him and had stuck all of it in the locking drawer in his desk where it had sat forgotten until he'd started to clean out the desk. Taking an evening to himself he read through the papers, staring at the sprawling tree diagram and the names listed on each branch. Finally he stared at the adoption papers and birth certificates. 

"We're twins.."

Jimmy sat quietly, blinking up at him and for a moment Castiel was afraid he'd broken his brother.

"Umm..Jim--"

"Which one of us was adopted out?" Jimmy's voice was strangely wooden, his face expressionless.

"I was..you stayed with our..mother. I was farmed out to who I thought was my mother." Castiel's face twisted up in a scowl as he started to pace.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Nothing in that stack of papers gave a why."

"Where'd you get all this?" Jimmy asked as he began flicking through the papers.

"Crowley gave them to me at the reveal party we had for Jack."

"Wait. You had these that long and you're just now telling me this?" Jimmy demanded; his voice taking on a hurt lilt and hurt starting to color his scent.

"It's not like that Jimmy. I thought Crowley was lying when he told me. So I locked the papers away and forgot about them until a week ago." He looked down at his hands, unsure of himself and wondering again if telling Jimmy was the right thing to do. 

"I guess that's why our scents are so close."

"Yeah..I guess so." He swallowed as he reached up and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck; a habit that he'd picked up from Dean. "Did you get to the last page yet?"

"You're joking.."

"Ah..you did."

"We're..Pure Line Alpha?" Jimmy's eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked up at him. 

"Yes I suppose we are if the paperwork can be believed. And since Crowley's mother is a keeper of records for all things Pure Line I don't think this is a joke of any kind."

They looked at one another, nothing and everything now changed between them. Silence settled over them but it wasn't uncomfortable and that was how Dean, Amelia, and the children found them when they returned. For the moment they decided not to say anything, they wanted to do more digging before bringing it their families; especially Gabriel. 

As Castiel scented Dean's throat later that night while they lay in bed he made the decision start digging deeper the next day. There were so many questions he had and he figured that the best place to start would be with his mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Reference Child Abuse, Death of a Mate, Internalized abandonment issues.

Trying to set up a time to meet with his mother proved to be problematic. They played a long game of telephone before he was able to concrete a date. During that time he tried to search up as much information as possible about his father. Not that there was much available online other than information about his companies. His personal life on the other hand seemed to be as non-existent as the man himself was in his children’s lives. The lack of information soured his mood and more than once he snapped at Dean and even once at Samandriel and Lucas for playing a video game too loud. 

That had been the last straw for his mate and that night was the worst fight he and Dean had had to date. Dean’s voice had been calm and controlled ice as he instructed Samandriel to take Lucas from the room and to call Sam to come and pick them all up. The young Alpha balked for a moment, his brain at odds with his innate sense to stay and protect his Omega father and doing what he was told. In the end a soft word from Dean had him hurrying to boy Dean’s wish. The fury foiling in his mates green-gold eyes was the only indication of his anger and it kept Castiel pinned to the spot as they waited for Sam to arrive. 

The air was tense and Castiel found it hard to breathe with the way Dean’s jaw would clench every time he glanced Castiel’s way. There was some silent communication between the brothers before Dean kissed each pup goodbye and once the door was closed behind Sam the fear in Castiel’s stomach ramped up and filled the air around him. The anger in Dean’s eyes went from roiling to a low blaze and if Castiel’s knee’s hadn’t locked up he knew he would have crumpled to the floor. Everyone had heard of the rumors that surrounded Omega Rage, old wives tales of Omega’s ripping apart anyone that hurt or threatened their pups and it looked like Castiel himself was about to witness it first hand. 

Dean’s steps towards him were slow and methodical, causing Castiel to swallow thickly. His mate didn’t yell; not at home anyway; and this time was no different as he backed the Alpha into a corner. Under normal circumstances crowding an Alpha anywhere was a bad idea, they could turn and attack without warning. However Castiel’s Alpha knew his mate was angry with him and was trying to come up with ways he could fix situation and keep his knot. Swallowing again he lowered his eyes and bared his throat to Dean in submission in the hopes that it would help ease some of the tension.

Still his mate reeked of angry, protective Omega and a whine clawed it’s way free. The fire in Dean’s eyes was still counter-balanced by the ice in his voice as he snarled lowly, demanding to know what his pups had done to deserve his recent mood, what he’d done to deserve it. Ashamed, heat crawled up Castiel’s throat and colored his cheeks a deep red. He couldn’t bring himself to even look at Dean right then, his frustrations ebbing away and leaving him embarrassed and regretful. His head snapped up moments later when he heard Dean ask, in the smallest voice he’d ever heard come from his mate, if he still wanted him, stilled wanted their pups. 

Panic set in and Castiel rushed Dean, wrapping him in his arms and holding him tightly as he tripped over his words in his haste to reassure his mate that he wanted nothing more than him and their children. They spent the day talking after that, Castiel receiving a sharp nip to his shoulder with a huffed admonishment of “knothead” for keeping it all bottled up instead of sharing the mental load. What didn’t get said was that Dean himself was guilty of the same thing when it came to cases eating away at him but the Omega promised to try better himself at opening up about things. 

After that Castiel self appointed himself to the couch as penance, his Alpha’s tale tucked between his legs at hurting his mate and pups. In apology he took Samandriel and Lucas out separately for some one on one time. Samandriel, after some Alpha posturing forgave him as they went to go pull some new parts from the salvage yard for the old junker that Dean was helping the boy rebuild. Lucas on the other hand was still reserved around him, his head bowed and his voice quiet. Castiel knew it would take time for the young boy to trust him again and it made his heart constrict knowing he’d made his pup afraid of him. 

The day of his visit to his mother came during his couching and Castiel was certain that he’d use the pent up frustration to get through the meeting. His mother while not the worst mother out there was more stubborn than any Alpha Castiel had run across and had an uncanny way of turning everything around to make herself look like the victim. Rubbing his hand over his face he gathered the papers he needed from the office and stuck his head into the garage where he seen Samandriel under the hood of his car while Lucas watched on. He watched them for a moment, a soft smile playing over his face as his pups interacted. After a few moments he cleared his throat to call attention to himself.

“I’m going over to Gran’s. Do you two want to come with me?” 

“What for?” Samandriel asked as he wiped his hands on an old shop rag that he had hanging from his back pocket.

“Well I have some questions for her.” 

“And you couldn’t ask them over the phone?” Samandriel arched his eyebrow and for a moment Castiel wondered if the boy had picked up the habit from himself or Sam. 

“These are very…sensitive questions and they really should be asked face to face.” 

The two boys looked between each other and Castiel found himself watching them hold an entire conversation without one word being uttered between them. That definitely had to have been picked up from Sam and Dean, those two were pros at that sort of communication and Castiel had to bite back the soft huffed laugh. After a few moments of silent conversation Samandriel looked over at him.

“I’ll go, Lucas wants to stay with Oma.” 

Castiel nodded before backing out of the door and heading into the kitchen where he could hear Dean humming along with whatever classic rock song was on the radio at the moment. On silent feet he crept up and wrapped his arms around his mate, nuzzling the junction where Dean’s shoulder and throat met. He rumbled deeply against the skin as Dean tilted his head slightly in order to give Castiel more room.

“Alfie and I are leaving.” The name sounded strange on his tongue, but ever since Samandriel had stated that he wanted to be called Alfie that’s what everyone called the young Alpha; unless he was in trouble, but even then only Dean pulled out the boys’ real name. 

"Let me know when you arrive? I worry about my two favorite Alpha's."

It was mean playfully but Castiel could hear the underlying thread of truth in Dean's words. He nuzzled the soft skin just under Dean's ear, rumbling quietly in hopes to soothe the worry. They stood like that for long moments before Castiel pulled away, pressing a chaste but lingering kiss to his mate's lips. A not so subtle cough from the doorway brought dual soft smiles to their faces as they broke apart.

"Ready?" Samandriel asked as he leaned against the door frame in an imitation of Dean's normal laid back stance.

"In a minute, I have to say good bye to my favorite Alpha."

"Omaaa."

The young man groaned and started to push away from his perch only to be stopped by Dean gathering in his arms and scent marking him thoroughly. After a few moments Samandriel wriggled free, a faint flush on his cheeks as he batted Dean's hand away as he ruffled the young Alpha's hair.

"Take care of your old man, you hear me? Make sure he eats or else he'll get cranky." Dean lowered his voice, shifting his eyes around dramatically as he did loud whispered. "And we don't want that."

Castiel suppressed a grin as he watched them, their heads pressed together and whispers bouncing back and forth between them. He cleared his throat and arched his eyebrow as he looked between them. 

"If you're quite done whispering about me.."

Samandriel's face flushed a hot red as Dean laughed, his head thrown back and exposing the long line of his throat. Castiel felt his mind wander as his eyes touched along every point of the soft skin and was jolted back to the present as the blonde moved over and pressed one more kiss to his cheek before he waved the two Alpha's off. 

It wasn't long into their trip that Castiel felt Samandriel's eyes on him only for the young man to look away when he'd look over at him. After the fourth time he felt the gaze on the side of his face he turned the radio down and looked over, tilting his head to the side slightly. 

"Something on your mind pup?"

"I'm not a pup.." came the soft huff. 

"You'll always be mine and your Oma's pup."

There was silence for a few moments and Castiel watched from the corner of his eyes as Samandriel twisted his hands in his lap, his shoulders tense before he squared them and looked back at the older man. 

"Are you and Oma ok now? You're not going to split up?"

Castiel felt his brow furrow as he looked over at the young man quickly before settling his gaze back on the road again.

"We're not going to split up Alfie. Your Oma and I...we just had a disagreement in which I was in the wrong to begin with." He huffed out a sigh. "Your Oma was protecting his pups, you and Lucas, from me."

"Protecting us? But you didn't do anything."

Castiel pulled in a breath as he rubbed his eyes. On one he wanted to Samandriel to understand, but on the other he knew that in order to do that he had to explain why Dean reacted the way he had and that wasn't his story to tell. After a few moments of thought he decided to just go forward with the tale. 

"It might seem that way to you but to your Oma it brought up years of bad memories. Your Grandfather, your Oma's father wasn't a good man. He was...gruff and very...hands on. He lost his mate when your Oma was very young. He started to drink and when he drank he was mean. One time when your Oma couldn't have been more than 7 years old he and your Uncle Sam were outside playing. Sam was only 2 and you know how young pups are, they aren't very quiet. Your Oma tried to keep Sam as quiet as possible and at the time I thought it was strange, kids are loud, they're supposed to be. But your Grandfather came storming out of the house and starting yelling at your Oma, demanding to know why he couldn't keep Sam quiet and then he yanked your Oma up by the arm, making him yelp." Castiel's jaw tightened as he lost himself in the memory. "I wanted to step in, but I was only 9 and he was your Oma's father, what right did I have. Anyway I was sent home, and when I seen your Oma a couple days later his arm was bruised from where his father grabbed him, and there were bruises on his face and around his throat."

The scent of angry Alpha filtered through the car and it took Castiel a moment to separate his scent from Samandriel's. 

"You'd never do that." Samandriel snarled, his hands clenched intp fists.

"I know that, but your Oma..he can't help it. He loves you and Lucas."

Samandriel's scent mellowed slightly and Castiel snuck a glance over at the young man, watching as his fingers twisted in the hem of his shirt.

"My Oma..my real...no my Biological Oma...she would hit me sometimes, she blamed me for my Alpha father taking off. You and Oma aren't like that.."

Castiel pulled over to the shoulder of the road and killed the engine; turning to look at the young man. He reached out and took Samandriel's hands in his, holding them firmly. 

"We love you Alfie, you're our pup, our first born pup. Our little Alpha."

Castiel pulled over to the shoulder of the road and killed the engine; turning to look at the young man. He reached out and took Samandriel's hands in his, holding them firmly. 

"We love you Alfie, you're our pup, our first born pup. Our little Alpha."

"Ben and Emma are your firs' born..." Samandriel murmured as he looked down, his fingers tightening around Castiel's slightly. 

"Hey, hey. Family don't end in blood pup, and it doesn't begin there either. Your Aunt Charlie isn't related to your Oma, nor your Uncle Benny. But your Oma will still fight for them if he has too. You're mine and your Oma's pup. Now and forever."

A smile ghosted over Samandriel's face and Castiel reached up and patted the young man's face gently. They sat for a few more minutes in silence before they got back on the road. The rest of the ride was quiet but the atmosphere was calm, the two Alpha's enjoying the ride and the company. The feel of the car started to turn the closer they got to Castiel's mother's home. They sat in the drive for a couple of minutes, both of them looking up at the large front porch and the wide bay window. Pulling in a breath Castiel was the first to move, stepping out of the car and smoothing his hands down his shirt as if to brush away any stray wrinkles that might have taken up residence during the ride. 

Standing at the door Castiel swallowed thickly, the questions he wanted to ask sticking in his throat. Pulling a breath in through his nose, Castiel knocked on the door as Samandriel shifted from foot to foot. They weren't left waiting long as the door swung open to reveal a woman with steel grey hair cut short and sharp blue eyes.

"Castiel. Samandriel."

"Mother."

"Grandmother."

"Well come in, come in." She smiled as she moved to the side, holding the door open for them. 

Once they were inside she pulled the young Alpha into a hug, fussing over how tall he'd gotten and how handsome he was becoming. Castiel stood off to the side, his eyes narrowing at the woman that he'd so long believed was his mother. Looking at her now he wondered how he could have ever thought that. Her eyes were too light blue, her build too short. 

"Come into the living room my dears, we have much to talk about." 

She ushered them through the front room and down the hall to the living room where a plate of finger sandwiches and glasses of tea waited on them. Samandriel took a seat over in one of the large overstuffed chair, a couple sandwiches on a napkin sitting on his leg. Castiel noticed a couple photo-albums sitting next to the glasses and he arched his eyebrow at his mother. To her chagrin she was starting to look nervous, her eyes darting to Castiel's face and then away only to come back to his face and dart away again. There was a couple minutes of silence between them before she started talking. 

"How did you find out?"

"A friend of Dean's. He brought me some paperwork back during Jack's reveal party."

She nodded and looked down at her hands before looking back up. 

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Castiel pressed, his voice a controlled calm that belied his roiling thoughts.

"It didn't seem important. I love you. It didn't matter how you came to me. You were my perfect little boy. You, Gabriel, Raphael, Anna..you were my pups."

"Are all of us adopted?"

"N-no. Gabriel and Anna were mine biologically. But you and Raphael..your father brought you to me." She huffed, setting her shoulders straight. "He told me that your mothers were unfit, that he couldn't leave his children with them. That he knew I would love you as my own. And I do. You're my pups.."

"Did you know I was a twin? Did he bring my brother here too?"

"No. It was just you. I didn't know you had a brother.."

Castiel exhaled through his nose, his eyes trained on the photo-albums. Across from him Samandriel had stopped eating, his eyes as wide as saucers. The knot in Castiel's chest didn't ease and he leaned over to pick up one of the books. 

"What can you tell me about my father? What was he like."

"He was...obsessed with having Alpha children. He wasn't much to look at granted, but in the beginning he was a nice man, a good Alpha. I knew he had an ex-wife, well I thought she was an ex-wife, that was Raphael's mother. He was in and out of our lives until he came with you bundled in his arms. He begged me to take care of you, that he'd made a mistake and fooled around me and that the woman who had you was unstable and he was worried for your safety. I should have questioned him, or been more angry, but one look at your serious little face and my heart melted. Once Gabriel manifested your father stopped coming around, calling me a worthless Omega that could never give him Alpha children. I never seen him again after that." She swallowed, her hands rubbing against the material of her slacks. "Of course I found out a couple weeks later that I was pregnant with Anna. I never tried to reach out to him about her."

"Do you have any pictures of him? What's his name?"

She took the book from him, flipping through pages before stopping on one and then turning the book around and tapping on a photo. There was a short man, light brown hair and rather unremarkable colored eyes. He looked more like he belongs in some beat poetry coffee shop. He seemed incapable of producing any children that looked like himself and Jimmy, or Michael and Lucifer, or Raphael. And yet..that man was his Alpha, his Alpha that didn't want him.

They left his mother's house, Samandriel munching through a baggie of cookies that she'd sent home with them. Castiel's mind was whirling with even more questions than he had before he arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> added tags, Angst, Misunderstandings, Castiel and Dean Winchester need to use their words, Michael is a little shit,

Now that there were more questions bouncing around his mind Castiel wasn't aware he began pulling away from his family. Hours turned into days, and days into weeks until he wasn't sure what the actual date was. All that he knew was that he had to find out the truth about what happened. He spent long days in his office pouring over county records and trying to find any scrap of information he could find on his father that he hadn't already found. Any information that Jimmy had was nebulous at best, the man didn't spend much time at home and all his brother could say was that he was squirrelly and restless the few times he could remember him visiting. 

Most nights Castiel would emerge long after dinner was over and cleaned up, a note left on the table pointing him towards the microwave where a covered plate waited on him. He would eat a few bites before putting the remains away then dragging himself to bed. He and Dean didn't believe in different sets of covers for mates, they enjoyed the touch of skin on skin too much. So the first time Castiel encountered the thin fabric barrier between them he'd been confused. However he'd been too tired that night to wake Dean and question him so instead he sank into a restless sleep.

When he'd awoken the next morning Dean was already gone and Castiel scowled deeply; Dean never left without waking Castiel for a good morning kiss. He never went to bed without one either, but Castiel blanked on the last time he'd kissed his mate. Grumbling he made his way downstairs expecting his pups to be settled in front of the tv or in a circle around Samandriel as the young Alpha read to them, Jack nestled in his lap. His house however was quiet, no mate or pups. Teeth on edge he quickly looked outside to see if maybe they were in the back yard but again the space was empty. 

A quick look to the driveway let him know they couldn't be too far, the Impala was still parked in her spot and a flick of his gaze told him that the keys still hung from the hook by the door.

_"Gabriel or Amelia could have came and picked them up."_ A traitorous voice in the back of his mind whispered.

Snarling now he looked around for a note, something that would tell him where his mate and pups had gone. Under the small, flickering of anger a kernel of fear started to expand. If they weren't in the house, and there was no note, and the Impala was still in the driveway anything could have happened. He tried to scent his family to see if he could tell just how long they'd been out of the house and if he could find any trace of fear in their scents. There was nothing however, just the scent of home, pups, and safety. His next circle of the house had him trying to see if anything looked out of place. 

He'd just made his fourth tour of house trying to find anything that would point him in the direction of his family when he heard the click of the lock on the front door. Rushing he skidded into the front hall as Samandriel and Lucas came through the door, Ben, Emma, and Jack juggled between them. Smiles wreathed their faces until the scent of distressed Alpha wafted to their nostrils. 

"Papa?" Samandriel asked as he shifted from foot to foot.

"Where's your Oma?" The question came out manic even to his ears but he couldn't help himself.

"He's outside with Uncle Michael." Lucas said as he looked over his shoulder towards the door. 

"Uncle Michael?"

"Yeah, yours and Uncle Jimmy's brother."

Castiel's brain seemed to short circuit on him as he looked between his pups and the front door. 

"Why?"

"He's been hanging around Uncle Jimmy's and he tells us stories from when Uncle Jimmy was younger." Lucas supplied with a smile.

Now focused entirely on the door Castiel gave his pups what he hoped was a reassuring smile. His Alpha snarling at the thought of Michael spending any time near his pups or his mate, the memory of the hungry gaze that the other Alpha leveled on his mate making his hackles raise.

"Why don't you take the younger pups upstairs, they look a little sleepy."

"Yes Papa." Samandriel and Lucas intoned together. 

Once they were out of sight Castiel strode outside, his eyes narrowed at the lack of space between his mate and his brother. Clearing his throat he plastered on a smile as he moved close to Dean and wrapped his arm around his mates waist, pulling him close. He leaned in for a kiss but his lips landed on Dean's cheek instead. Pushing aside his irritation at the rejection from his mate he turned his attention to his brother instead.

"Michael."

"Castiel. Dean was just telling me about your hunt for father."

"Was he now? Well the old man seems hard to pin down."

Michael nodded, a smile on his face that to Castiel's annoyance was aimed at Dean. "Yeah, father didn't spend much time at home, though I guess I know why now. Makes all his business trips much more clear."

"Seems like he took many, many trips."

The tension was starting to grow between the brothers and Dean cleared his throat before gently pulling away from Castiel and turning towards the house. 

"I'll just leave you two to talk." He muttered softly, his eyes downcast. 

"We're still on for next weekend, right?" Michael asked, his head tilted in an imitation of Castiel's own quirk. 

"Yeah. Next weekend, make sure you're at Jimmy's early. I don't want to waste any time."

"Yes Sir."

There was a fond eye roll from Dean and Castiel watched seething as Michael's gaze remained on his mate until Dean disappeared into the house.

"You have quite the mate there Castiel." Michael tossed out, his one eyebrow arched as he took in Castiel's stiffened posture. 

With a snarl the younger Alpha stepped into Michael's space, his voice low and his eyes ringed in red. "Yes, _I_ do have an amazing mate." He bit out. "You'll do well to remember that he is _my_ mate."

"Temper, temper Cassie. A good Alpha doesn't lose control." Michael sniffed as he wiped imaginary dust from his shoulder. "But then again a good Alpha doesn't ignore his mate either." 

"I don't.."

"It's quite...intriguing what Dean opens up about when he has someone to listen to him, especially right now."

"Michael.."

"Anyway, as pleasant as this chat has been dear brother I have other duties to attend to." His lips pulled into a feral looking smirk as he flicked his eyes over Castiel's rumpled clothing. "I'll be seeing you soon Cassie."

Before Castiel could think of a reply Michael spun on his heel and slipping into his SUV in a matter of moments, the sound of the tires on gravel heralding his departure moments later. He stood staring at the place his brother had been for long moments, the entire conversation replaying over and over in his mind, his jaw clenched tightly shut. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself before headed back into the house. Stepping back inside helped soothe his ruffled feathers, the scent of home and mate and pups wrapping around him and reminding him that Dean was his mate, and that they loved each other. 

The errant thought of not remembering the last time he'd kissed his mate properly sprung to mind and Castiel set off to find Dean, checking in each of the man's normal haunts in the home until he happened to catch a glance of him sitting on the back deck. He stopped for a few moments, letting his gaze flick over his mate's side profile, drinking in the strong jaw, the soft stubble on his face, the wide muscled shoulders and strong chest. A sigh worked it's way free and he cleared his throat to get Dean's attention as he stepped through the french doors onto the deck. 

"What are you thinking about" He asked quietly as he moved over and settled down next to the blonde. 

"Nothing in particular." 

The words themselves weren't unusual, he knew that there were times where Dean just let his mind wander, letting it sort out whatever was crowding him at the moment mentally. But the tone was new, clipped and a little chilly. Frowning he bumped Dean's shoulder, trying to get the other man to look at him. 

"Are you ok?" He asked when Dean stayed staring out over the back yard. 

"Peachy. Just...tired."

He looked down at his watch, eyes narrowing again when he seen it was only slightly past noon. Idly he realized he spent more time searching the house for his family than he'd thought. 

"Oh?"

"Mmm. Jimmy wanted me to look at the new van he's getting Amelia, wants me to make it the safest I can for them. Took a bit of time looking over the junker before I could give him a time frame. There are a lot of parts I need to get before I can even start." Dean offered, his gaze still settled on the landscape around him.

"And Michael?"

He watched as Dean's spine straightened almost ramrod straight, frowning when he realized that he couldn't scent the change in Dean's mood despite him being guarded and on edge. He leaned in and gently ran his nose from the bolt of his mates jaw to his shoulder, the frown turning into a scowl when it registered that he couldn't smell Dean at all. 

"Are you wearing scent blockers?"

"I had to stop in at the office for a few minutes." 

The reply was quick and without inflection and it brought a rumbling growl from the center of Castiel's chest. Something was going on and his Alpha didn't like it. Reaching out Castiel gripped the point of Dean's chin, turning his face so that they were looking at one another.

"Talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about."

Dean tried to pull his face away but Castiel's tightened his grip instinctively, forcing the blonde to hold the gaze. In his haze he missed the slight flare of fear in Dean's eyes.

"Tell me." He grit out, the slightest thread of Alpha tone slipping into the words. 

Dean opened his mouth to speak but snapped it back, jerking his head away and standing. Castiel followed suit, getting into Dean's space and walking him backwards towards the railing of the deck. Any other time the look on their faces would be playful, or full of naked lust for the other, but right then their jaws were set in angry clenches, their eyes glaring at each other with enough heat that it should have set something on fire. Castiel reached again for Dean, this time intending for his wrist but the blonde moved out of the way deftly and disappeared into the house leaving the Alpha standing on the porch staring at the place he'd just been. 

Later that night when Castiel crawled into bed he grit his teeth to find that a rather large blanket had joined the barrier that kept his mates skin from his hands. Huffing he wrapped himself in his own blankets and turned his back to Dean, ignoring the plaintive keening of his Alpha for his mate. He never did find out what Dean and Michael had planned for the next weekend, but his mind was all too happy to supply him with images and suggestions.


End file.
